Dziwożona is a female swamp demon in Slavic mythology known for being malicious and dangerous. Most at risk of becoming one of these demons after death were thought to be midwives, old maids, unmarried mothers, pregnant women who die before childbirth, as well as abandoned children born out of wedlock.
Dziwożona. Woodcut by Jan Styfi (1839-1921) based on an earlier engraving by Henryk Pillati. Published in Tygodnik Ilustrowany magazine on October 22, 1864
In Slavic folklore, the rusalka is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie. Folklorists have proposed a variety of origins for the entity, including that they may originally stem from Slavic paganism, where they may have been seen as benevolent spirits. Rusalki appear in a variety of media in modern popular culture, particularly in Slavic language-speaking countries, where they frequently resemble the concept of the mermaid.
Ivan Kramskoi, Rusalki ("The Mermaids"), 1871
Witold Pruszkowski Rusałki, 1877
Rusalka by Ivan Bilibin, 1934